"The actions of some motorists in queueing irresponsibly at petrol stations is causing danger to other road users," he said.

"We have been taking action and have requested petrol stations to close temporarily in order to keep traffic flowing."

Firefighters were also called out to garages to deal with spillages caused by overfilling after senior fire officers warned Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude's call to fill jerry cans posed a hazard.

Fire engines were called to the Esso Express on King's Road in Chelsea, west London, where a driver had put too much fuel into his van.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "We arrived just after 11am to the King's Road petrol station and were there for about 20 minutes after a van driver over-filled his vehicle.

"The diesel leaked all over the forecourt and we had to clean it up for safety reasons.

"The driver was going on a long journey and over-filled by about three-quarters of a litres.

"We're not sure why he over-filled the van, but it possibly is related to the fuel strike. We don't wish to speculate."

Increased sales of fuel from panic buying by motorists yesterday will bring in more than £32 million in extra fuel excise duty, it was revealed.

The AA calculated the figure after news that petrol sales shot up by 81% and diesel by 43% as motorists flocked to garages across the UK to fill up ahead of a possible strike by fuel tanker drivers.

Earlier today, roads minister Mike Penning, a former firefighter, told motorists to follow the example of the emergency services and keep fuel in reserves in case of a strike.

"If it does go ahead, it will be a much better prepared situation if petrol tanks are topped up," he said.

He also defended his colleague Mr Maude, who had been criticised for advising drivers to keep more than the legal limit of petrol in jerry cans.

His comments were behind a 225 per cent rise in sales of fuel cans at Halfords.

Halfords commercial director Paul MClenaghan said: "It is clear that there is an element of panic buying with customers telling us they want to be prepared for any industrial action.

"Sales started rising dramatically after the Government issued their warning and advised motorists to fill up."

But the chief executive of the Road Haulage Association warned the threat of a strike by members of the union Unite should not be turned into a national emergency.

Geoff Dunning said: "Many drivers of fuel tankers are not members of Unite, so those who have voted for strike action are in a minority. Furthermore, these drivers are all paid much more than the average for truck drivers generally, typically receiving over £40,000 per year."

He added: "The safe delivery of fuel is of paramount importance: any concerns can and should be examined carefully, and adequate procedures for addressing such concerns already exist. But the reliability of fuel supply is equally significant and should not be jeopardised."

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) also spoke out against the Government's warnings of a possible strike.

Keely Scanlan, PRA spokesman, said: "The Government was entirely responsible for the chaos on Wednesday.

"They were irresponsible and shouldn't have made any announcement as people started panic buying.

"They don't know if there's going to be a strike and stations are still getting petrol delivered, so if people just leave it alone and carry on as normal then it will be fine.

"The problem is that with any sort of panic buying, it's certainly down to scaremongering in the media.

"The Government haven't even been in touch with us at all for how best to deal with this situation and we are urging them to get in touch so we can help them and not keep having days like Wednesday where pumps were running dry."